Student Created Syllabi

Making the syllabus for our HHR course at Washington University SOM was a very natural process that involved a lot of brainstorming which speakers we knew who could give great lectures on HHR topics of interest to us and doing some research to find others who could talk about issues that hadn’t been raised before by student group events. Once we had a list of all the speakers and topics they would address, it was simply a matter of organizing the lectures in a logical order, which really just meant starting with an introductory lecture on the historical context of the notion of a Right to Health, as well as collecting articles and readings that were relevant and of an appropriate depth for the nature of the course.
– Nick Reeves, former chapter leader, Washington University School of Medicine

Three Tips on How to Create a Class Syllabus

By the Washington University PHR Student Chapter

1. Start your elective with a class introducing the background and historical context of the notion of a Right to Health, starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You should be able to find a professor at an affiliated or nearby University who would be willing to give this lecture without compensation.
2. Think of all the lunch lectures or other student group events you’ve attended that have addressed issues pertaining to Health and Human Rights and make a list of all the speakers you would like to invite to give guest lectures on particular topics. Send each potential speaker an email requesting that they give a lecture for your student-organized HHR elective. Most of the speakers will be happy to contribute an hour or two of their time. Then you just need to determine what dates would work best for all the speakers and start filling in the lecture slots.
3. Do some research! Search the Internet and websites for various local universities to look for professors/academics who focus on issues pertaining to HHR that you would like to include as topics for your elective. You may be surprised by how many speakers you can find to address topics such as torture by US forces, global health and HIV/AIDS issues, or any other HHR issue that you are passionate about. Then simply contact each potential speaker with an email or phone call requesting that they give a lecture for your student-organized HHR elective.

Sample Student-Created Syllabi

The following syllabi were created by PHR student chapters and are available as a guide and resource. If you have questions for these chapters please email The National Student Program Coordinator [1] to get in touch with them.

• Washington University [2]
• Columbia University [3]
• Virginia Commonwealth University [4]